In The Moment Running: 2014 - A Year To Remember

Quite certainly, 2014 was a year to remember and one where I felt like I was finally back on my feet in life. No year is without its challenges but part of life is finding the enjoyment and happiness we all seek and let these things counteract or surpass those challenges.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

This post is going to be a bit about life and about running which has been such a big part of my life. However, without God and the teachings of Jesus, I would not be where I am today.

"Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

It will be filled with stats and references to other posts on this blog (click on anything orange) along with some commentary. Frankly, it is more for me than you, whomever you are, but with our social voyeur tendencies these days, we all like a little insight into the lives of others. This is also not just my life but Cindy's as she has been part of it every step of the way. OK, let's get started.

First and foremost, the highlight of 2014 was the year Cindy and I were married, April 25, 2014 at Triple Falls, DuPont State Forest near Asheville, NC standing literally at the base of the falls. We spent a long weekend in a premier B&B, 1900 Inn on Montford in Asheville. It was a special day and God parted the clouds for us to have sunshine to start our married life together. The blog entry can be found here.

Another highlight was running the Diaper Dash in Cincinnati with Bree, my step-granddaughter. It is ironic that after the hundreds of races I have run, the thousands of miles I have run and with the 91 marathons and ultras I have run, I found a complete and pure joy in those 25 yards running with Bree seeing the excitement and joy in her face when pinning on the racing bib, getting her first medal and then doing another 100 yards out of the pure joy of running. That blog entry can be found here.

A third highlight was giving meaning to running. I adopted the Durham Rescue Mission as my charity of choice. I committed in January that I would give the cost of a meal $2.05 for each mile run during the year committing to at least 1,500 miles. As you will see in the stats below, I surpassed that commitment and provided 1,668 meals to the homeless, addicted, and those in programs to resurrect their lives. I am humbled that I have been given the health and means to be able to do this. That blog entry can be found here and the Durham stats page can be found here.

As for running, 2014 was filled with marathons and travel to places that may be once-in-a-lifetime destinations. In my quest to run a marathon in all 50 states, I added three premier destinations in 2014 giving me 48 states, Alaska, Wyoming and New Mexico. All were unique both in the marathon itself and the destination. Although I could continue to write about these, I already have so the blog entries can be found by linking to the posts: New Mexico (Bataan Memorial Death March), Alaska (Cordova Salmon Runs) and Wyoming (Jackson Hole Marathon). Other posts related to these events:

Bataan History

Bataan Categories

Bataan Course

Bataan Comments

Bataan Brief

Bataan In-Processing

Bataan Dripping Springs

Alaska State 47

Alaska Anchorage to Whittier

I tend to write long posts which I'm sure people don't read and not even sure I would but it is a good chronicle and remembrance of the year. Pictures and words of life experiences capture the essence of the moment. I just wish I had started it earlier in life. What? there was no internet back then? Oh yes, that's right, there was (and still is) paper and pen! So here are some other highlights and then I will provide stats for the year.

Got a dog - Casey boy, for Cindy's birthday over memorial weekend. A lap dog weighing 12 pounds turned into a couch dog weighing 60 pounds with his own truck. Here is a post about his first mile. Running on the beach with him The Joy of Running and The Dog Fartleked.

Cindy got her other hip replaced and then ran/walked the Salmon Runs 5K 8 weeks later - what a trooper! See the Cordova Salmon Runs above/below.

Ran 8 marathons in 8 different states and 3 new states giving me a total of 82 marathons and 48 states.

Miami Marathon, FL Pictures

Umstead Trail, Raleigh, NC

Bataan, White Sands, NM

Flying Pig Cincinnati, OH

Cordova King Salmon (AK)

Jackson Hole (WY)

Baltimore (MD)

Darlington (SC)

Raleigh City of Oaks Half marathon (NC)

Visited Paris. Cindy had to go to Paris to work so I tagged along for some pleasure although we still had 3 full days to visit together.

Completed my Durham Rescue Mission mission.

OK, here are some stats for the year. I love stats and I am in the process of organizing my lifetime racing and running stats. I believe that I have every bib and time for every organized event that I have run. Here is how 2014 panned out.

Ran 309 of 365 days

Ran 1,668 miles

Avg. per running day: 5.3 miles

Avg. over 365 days: 4.5 miles

Number of marathons: 8

Avg. marathon finish time: 4:24:39 (Cincinnati best 4:12:37 and Darlington worst 5:13:32)

Avg. age-graded time: 4:08:25 (3:43:13 best)

Number of states: 8

Number of new states: 3

Total number of states: 48

Total marathons: 82

Total marathons/ultras: 91

Number of races at other distances: 1 (half-marathon 1:54:47 age-graded 1:40:00)

Number of blog entries: 134

Number of meals donated to Durham Rescue Mission: 1,668

Ran over 100 miles in every month in 2014 102-172 miles

Avg. 139 miles per month

Avg. 32 miles per week (6-45 miles)

So there you have it, 2014 in a nutshell. Of course there are many more things that we did during the year with family like Thanksgiving with Cindy's family, Shelli's April party, Shilling family reunion and Christmas dinner, , shows at DPAC, 2 trips to England (for work), changed role at work, trips to Asheville, camping with Sandy and Paul, Hammer visit, Maniac cheer zone, etc. It was a packed year and I am thankful to God for it.

The next post here will be called High Hopes and will layout running plans for 2015 when I will finish the 50 states and DC. I have already had a good start to the year in running so Godspeed the year will progress at His will.